Ineffable Music Partners With Marc Geiger and Bruce Flohr to Launch Ventura Music Hall
"I had a bunch of time on my hands ... and I thought the middle of a pandemic was the right time to double down on live music," jokes Ineffable's Thomas Cussins.
The Ventura Music Hall in Ventura, Calif. opens tonight (March 22) months after it was purchased by an investment group that includes Ineffable Music and longtime music industry veterans and Ventura residents Marc Geiger and Bruce Flohr.
First opened as a bowling alley, nightclub and bar, the venue’s owner sold the venue in 2021 after her previous tenant Jeremy Pemberton was arrested for defrauding investors on a similar project in Northern California. After months of work revamping the venue, the space will open tonight with a concert from G. Love & The Juice, followed by Thievery Corporation on (March 24), Los Retros (March 25), Flogging Molly (March 26) and Collie Buddz (March 27).
“I had a bunch of time on my hands — and for some reason, I thought the middle of a pandemic was the right time to double down on live music,” says Thomas Cussins, president of Ineffable Music who is leading the project.
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Cussins is already a very busy guy, operating an independent reggae label and an artist management company with clients that include Stick Figure, Trevor Hall and Collie Buddz. And then there’s the venue management and concert promotion company, with a portfolio that includes eight California venues under management — the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Cornerstone in Berkeley, Felton Music Hall in Felton, the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, the Arcata Theater and the Golden State Theater in Monterey.
Geiger a former co-head of music at WME, is an individual investor in the project (his new company Save Live does not have an official stake in the venture), as is Red Light Management’s Flohr. Cathy Duncan, with guitar and bass pickup manufacturer Seymour Duncan, is also an investor. All three are longtime residents of Ventura County, located just north of Los Angeles County.
“Having their involvement really made a big difference in what we could do with the venue,” says Cussins, who notes that besides the 1,200-capacity Majestic Theater, Ventura County doesn’t have much of a music scene but believes there is strong demand in the community for a club at the 600-capacity level.
“We will focus on making sure we’re booking good bands and want it to be one of those places that you go even if you don’t know the band playing because you trust that if the venue booked it, its a great band,” says Cussins, citing the 930 Club in D.C. and the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, Calif. as two influences.
“I would love for live music to become a bigger part of our day-to-day entertainment,” Cussins adds. “The goal with Ventura Music Hall is to make it easy for the community to enjoy live music and for fans to make concerts the centerpiece of the evening, Unpretentious and comfortable, just like if you were going out to your neighborhood watering hole.”
For Ineffable, Ventura Music Hall adds to an already compelling tour map to compete against larger promoters, offering touring artists looking to expand their audience in the Golden State beyond the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego.
“The challenge isn’t competition, it’s how many days an artist plans to spend in California,” Cussins. “We offer touring opportunities in these great markets with fans that are willing to spend money on live entertainment without taking away from the market power of the larger cities.”
Ventura County is mostly a coastal bedroom community to LA — the city of Ventura is home to only 100,000 residents while Ventura County is home to 850,000 people, about the same number of people that live in the city of San Francisco. One dollar of every ticket sold at the venue will go towards a community fund to support local nonprofits, beginning with the non-profit Ventura Music Festival.
Cussins tells Billboard his team has spent the last few months renovating the space, installing a pair of state-of-the-art DiGiCo audio consoles in the club. Ventura local and BBQ expert Jason Ruffinelli will develop the venue’s menu, which will pair casual dining with craft beer and wine. Ineffable Music’s Casey Smith will serve as head talent buyer, with Ineffable’s Natasha Doron as junior talent buyer. Ineffable CFO and partner Matt Bailey will oversee finances. Jay Catley joins Ventura Music Hall as general manager after serving in the same role at the Ocean Mist in Rhode Island, and Courtney Panton joins as production manager. The venue will be ticketed by Tixr.
See here for a list of bookings.